3 Must-Have Tools for Mobile Game Development

Whether you consider yourself a burgeoning game developer, the next Shigeru Miyamoto, or something in between, choosing the right platform out of the hundreds of tools available for building mobile games is becoming increasingly difficult. Don’t get the wrong idea — this is definitely an industry you want to master. According to research firm Newzoo, the global gaming industry is expected to rake in an estimated $128.5 billion in revenue by 2020.

To help you navigate the ever-evolving mobile game development landscape, we’ve rounded up three tools that will come in handy as you work toward creating the next big game or series.

Agora.io

Building on its sound reputation of well-crafted real-time voice and video for mobile games, Agora.io released its Agora Mobile Gaming (AMG) SDK tool. This tool gives game developers a new way to embed high quality, real-time voice, video, and broadcasting functionality into mobile games on iOS and Android platforms.

With a package size starting at 2M, CPU usage 20 percent lower than the industry average, and RAM usage 50 percent lower than the industry average, the AMG SDK is designed to reduce battery drain — which means more play time for users. Couple that with 180-degree spatial sound for realistic in-game voice positioning, seamless integration requiring only two lines of code, and a convenient pay-as-you-go model, and it’s no wonder the AMG SDK has already been installed on more than 523,494,738 devices around the world.

Unity

What you’ll love about this intuitive game development engine is its numerous features for both 2D and 3D game development, such as the ability to edit images and organize animations from the animator window through a built-in editor. This popular cross-platform tool also allows you to connect with more gamers by porting your games to all the major mobile platforms, including iOS, Android, and BlackBerry, as well as the internet and a number of gaming consoles.

Unity offers a free basic plan for beginners; a Plus plan, starting at $35 per month, for experienced developers; and a Pro version, starting at $125 per month, for seasoned developers. In addition, Unity features an asset store where you can purchase an array of items for your game.

Corona SDK

Another tool that’s great for developing cross-platform games is Corona SDK. Available for Mac and Windows operating systems, Corona SDK features a free basic version for newbies and an enterprise solution for more advanced developers looking to create a game or app with more bells and whistles.

The instant-update simulator enables you to see updated code and saved changes instantaneously. When you’re ready to test your creation, you can build and deploy your app just once, and the code/assets will update automatically. Best of all, this 2D mobile development platform utilizes the scripting language Lua — a powerful yet fast programming language that, for many, is easy to learn.

Hopefully, these tools will help you on your way to finding success as a game developer. Let us know how they work for you in the comments section below.